Episode III-VII Swindles
'Episode III-VII Swindles '''is the eighteenth episode of the Anime adaptation. It is also the end of the Banquet of the Golden Witch adaptation. Synopsis Beatrice mounts a last stand against her successor, and Battler confronts EVA in the metaworld. In order to beat her, Beato makes a daring declaration. 12 years later, Ange Ushiromiya begins her search for the truth. Plot Summary First Half Jessica hides under a desk, still blinded from her scuffle with Eva and fearing for her life. She calls out Kanon's name, and she starts hearing his voice. Jessica feels around, surprised that Kanon is alive, and his ghost appears; Beatrice resurrected his spirit for a bit so he could guide Jessica to safety. He asks her to stand up but Jessica refuses, only doing it if Kanon calls her by her name instead of "Milady". He does so, and the two of them make it to the parlor. They then stop, and Jessica asks if someone's there; it's Beatrice. Jessica stands up straight and thanks her, and Beato simply states that no thanks is needed for she's done more evil than can ever be compensated for. Kanon doesn't think so, saying that at the moment she is a good witch. Beato leaves the parlor and locks it, leaving the two lovers to themselves. Just then, Beatrice is struck with a golden thread; EVA-Beatrice and her furniture are attacking her. EVA is thinks Beato's actions are caused by her regrets over giving EVA all that magical power. As Beato lies bleeding, she tells her successor that the Endless Magic is not real magic, and that true magic lies somewhere that EVA cannot reach. As she ponders the meaning of this, Beato insults her by calling her a foolish witch who still won't understand after a thousand years. EVA laughs it off and threatens to torture Kanon and Jessica over and over again. Beato begins using more magic to create a barrier around the parlor, but EVA plans to kill her to make it disappear. Upon her command, the Chiesters launch more golden arrows to pierce Beatrice. Despite her wounds, she maintains her composure and gives a hearty grin. EVA yells at the Chiesters for failing to kill Beato, and 45 replies that they've pierced her heart several times. As EVA stands in bewilderment, Beato continues her mocking tone, seeing her resolve as true magic. The Chiesters then fire an explosive shot that destroys all of Beatrice's body, but her heart remains suspended in midair; unable to comprehend this scene, the Chiesters run away. Disappointed in her furniture, EVA moves to do something about Beato's heart but Ronove stops her, saying that even she cannot do anything against Beatrice's endless nature. As she questions him, Kanon reappears and thanks Beatrice for her help, having had enough time to say his goodbyes to Jessica; he subsequently disappears, and Beato's heart falls to the floor. EVA prepares to finish her off, but time stops around her. Battler walks up to the scene and Beato reappears, lamenting how she'd been reduced to a bloody heart. She thinks she's lost her chance to become recognized as Battler's opponent, but in the next moment EVA is brought to Purgatorio. Battler declares that his opponent is not Beato, but EVA-Beatrice. The confused EVA summons the Chiesters and orders them to fire, but their arrows have no effect. Upon scanning Battler, they realize that his anti-magic resistance level is at Endless Nine; no amount of magic will work on him. Battler yells at them to disappear, and they run away once again. Beato wearily sits in a chair, and Battler tells her that she's protected the honor of true witches; Beatrice sheds tears over his praise. Virgilia is then called and asked to recreate the second twilight. She reiterates that Maria and Rosa were killed in the rose garden, with the most likely culprit being Eva. EVA-Beatrice scoffs at this accusation and summons Hideyoshi's ghost to act as a witness, who claims Eva never left the room and was being watched by him the entire time. Battler doesn't believe it, thinking that even if Hideyoshi was in the room the entire time, there's no guarantee that Eva did the same; he asks the witch to repeat it in red and declares checkmate when she can't. EVA is still confused by all of this, and Ronove explains that those are the rules of the game; he passes her a cup of tea but it gets knocked it to the floor. EVA decides to go on the offensive and asks Ronove to reconstruct the fourth through sixth twilights. EVA reminds the group that, after the survivors had gathered in the guesthouse, Rudolf, Kyrie, and Hideyoshi went to the mansion for food. EVA makes note of Kyrie wanting to go to the mansion despite saying they should stay in the guesthouse, calling it a contradiction. She then claims that that contradiction is a result of EVA controlling Kyrie with magic. Battler cannot disprove her claim, and Ronove finds it an excellent move on the witch's part. Beato then stands up and says she can help, asking Virgilia to recreate Kyrie's death. As Beato goes through her belongings and finds seemingly useless junk, Battler thanks her for her help and picks up a cigarette butt; he knows Kyrie doesn't smoke. He asks Beato to check Hideyoshi's pockets as well, and she finds a pack of cigarettes, which matches the butt. As EVA looks on puzzled, Battler explains that the human Eva hated smoking, and there was an ashtray in her and Hideyoshi's room; Kyrie noticed this and deduced that Eva had snuck out of the room. EVA calls it conjecture, but Battler dares her to repeat it in red. She refuses, and Battler claims this scene as his victory, thanking Beato once more as her expression becomes very happy. Battler continues his line of reasoning, thinking that Kyrie wanted to isolate Hideyoshi and interrogate him, explaining the contradiction of going to the mansion despite her claims. EVA gets angry, and proceeds to hit Battler with a fatal move. She changes topic to Nanjo's murder and states that after Jessica was injured, Eva was under Battler's constant surveillance. Therefore, Eva has a perfect alibi for murdering Nanjo. Battler is taken aback, and Eva continues by stating that at the time of Nanjo's murder, Battler, Eva, and Jessica were alive. Battler was with Eva the entire time, so the crime was impossible for her. At the time of the crime, only Nanjo and Jessica were in the servant room. Jessica Ushiromiya did not commit murder, and Eva and Battler weren't involved in Nanjo's murder either. Battler is still unable to think of a response, and EVA adds that no more than 18 people exist on this island. Since the three remaining survivors couldn't have done it, Battler claims that Nanjo committed suicide or died to a trap; EVA adds that Nanjo's death was a homicide, and the culprit killed him from point-blank range. Battler claims she's lying with red, only to be reminded that "red only tells the truth!" Ronove declares the red truths to be effective, and Virgilia compliments the gameboard for having such an elaborate and beautiful layout. To end things, EVA claims that Nanjo was killed by magic, and the culprit was the Golden Witch. Battler slams the ground in frustration, unable to think of an opposing theory. Beato comforts him, telling him that if he stops thinking, he'll lose. He begins shedding tears in frusration, and Beato announces that she has a counter move: she will deny witches in red. Virgilia and Ronove look shocked as EVA questions this accusation, saying that Beato will be affected by it too. She's completely fine with this, saying she's a fake witch just like EVA; she has no regrets and will gladly erase the two of them. EVA wants to keep her witch powers and tries to stop her, but Ronove restrains her. Virgilia asks Beato if she's really going to do this, and she apologizes for getting her caught up in it as well. She praises Beato for being such a good disciple, and Battler then asks her not to sacrifice herself. She ignores his plea and asks Battler to do one more thing: cover his ears. When she denies witches with red, she will probably lose her form as a witch, but still wants to be seen as one in Battler's eyes. EVA still tries to break free, saying that Ronove will also be affected by this, and Beatrice walks up to her. She turns and gives Battler one last smile, and he reluctantly covers his ears. Beato begins speaking, and the metaworld crumbles into gold. On the gameboard, Battler realizes that Eva is the culprit; she laughs and raises her gun, saying it took him long enough to notice. The clock strikes 23:15 as she fires. Second Half Battler and Beatrice reappear in the Golden Land to applause, greeted by everyone: Virgilia, the Stakes, the Chiesters, and everyone in the Ushiromiya family. Shannon bows, telling Battler that they've all been waiting. Happy to see everyone alive and well, Battler is then shown to a pedestal. As the last one summoned, they want to formally invite Battler to sign the invitation to the Golden Land; Beatrice will also be invited as the Golden Witch. Battler and Beato share a smile, and he's directed to sign; he reads the invitation, which says "I acknowledge that you are a witch." Battler pauses, thinking there's something off about it. Beato urges him to sign, and a goat grabs his hand. Virgilia also chimes in urging him to sign, and a girl suddenly breaks through the ceiling, telling him ''not to sign. Beato doesn't recognize the girl at all and the goats move to attack, who are swiftly taken out. She stops in front of Battler and tells him not to let the witch trick him; he looks towards Beato and asks if she really was lying. She looks concerned, but drops the facade and starts cackling, saying it was all Virgilia's idea. Inspired by the "North Wind and Sun" story, Beatrice pretended to act so kind and innocent in order to make Battler believe in her. Still in disbelief over the trick, Battler is grabbed by the girl and asked why he's still wasting time. Battler still doesn't know who the girl is, but Beato sees the ring on her finger and realizes that she's Bernkastel's piece. As she taunts her, the girl thrusts out her finger and declares she'll uncover the truth of Rokkenjima on 1986. Tea Party Beatrice has tea with Lambdadelta, who asks if she's even trying to win. She thinks Beato doesn't care about winning or losing when her job is to "win without fail for all eternity"; as long as Beato follows this rule, Lambda will allow her to stay as a witch. Beato agrees to the order and disappears. Alone, Lambda states she loves Bern and wants to see her struggle in Beato's game. ???? 12 years later on October 4th, 1998, Ange Ushiromiya stands above Eva, who's sick in a hospital bed. Eva states how she despises Ange, and wants to make her suffer by giving her the gold and headship of the Ushiromiya family. Ange doesn't care about that and asks what really happened on Rokkenjima, asking why her brother Battler and the rest of her family died. Eva begins whispering something, but when Ange gets close she's told to roll over and die, her aunt laughing afterwards. Ange then stands on top of a building, hanging onto the fence and gazing down at the streets. She lets go and is about to let herself fall when Bernkastel suddenly appears. She's come for Ange's help, saying that her family has been locked away on that day 12 years ago by the Golden Witch Beatrice; she's the reason Ange is isolated in the future, and as the "final Beatrice", only ANGE-Beatrice can stand up to her. Ange asks if defeating her will really bring her family back, but Bern makes no promises and ensures she can bring about a miracle. Some men in suits suddenly appear on the rooftop and radio for support. Upon seeing them, Ange agrees to Bern's plan; the men run towards Ange to get her away from the edge, but she waves goodbye to them and dives off the building. Teaser Ange narrates the preview. She's here at Bern's request, but wonders if she's in the right place. Bern promised her that Battler and the others would return if she did a "brother preview" by saying the word "brother" twelve hundred times. She reads the script and acts out a scenario where she wakes her brother up, and says he's going to be late; she begins tickling him and the audio gets muffled. Ange acts out more suggestive scenes about her and Battler, and she wonders if this will really help bring him back, calling for Bern. Ange says the next episode title and acts out one last scene, telling Battler to move so she can kill something. Soundtrack Trivia *In chess, a swindle is the act of being in a losing position and then tricking your opponent to achieve victory. Category:Anime Category:Anime Episode